India has a record low, worse than any Asian country since the year 2026 began, and compared to a stronger currency like the US Dollar, this article explores whether it is worth per unit or just a small number.
Currency is often judged by the size of the number: a smaller number seems strong, while a larger number seems weak.
Take this example: Two countries Q and Z compete against the US Dollar. Country Q needs 50 coins of its currency to make $1, whereas Country Z needs 200 coins.
Country Z has a large number, hence a weak currency, but this only tells us that the US dollar is stronger than Countries Z and Q, not how they compare to each other.
Where Country Q stands, 1 of its coins can buy 4 of Country Z’s coins.
In the case of the Indian rupee versus the US dollar, it's quite similar. 96 INR is needed to buy $1, which shows that it is the weaker one, but compared to the Pakistani rupee, it needs 1 INR to buy 3.0267 PKR, even though both of them are on the weaker side.
The currency number might look big or small, but that alone doesn't tell its worth.
The Indian rupee has been the least performing Asian currency since 28th of February, with a 5.5% fall, and this all began when Brent Crude, the world oil price, increased 0.6% to $110 per barrel.
The price of oil was sold at $78 per barrel the day before the conflict began (Scroll.in, 2026a). What this means for India is that it is going to take more rupees to get $1. Why?
India gets its oil via importation, and 88% of crude oil and natural gas mostly comes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked due to the conflict in West Asia (Scroll.in, 2026a, 2026b).
Scroll. in recorded that it has also fallen because of capital outflows. This means that foreign investors have pulled out their money from India’s shares, which is more than Rs 2 lakh crore, thereby pushing the rupee downward (Scroll.in, 2026b). The Wire also recorded the downgrade of India's rupee, which fell to nearly 92 INR per dollar due to the pullout of foreign investors (The Wire, 2026).
India’s currency may be getting weaker by the day, but it's still ‘worth more per unit’ when compared to other currencies, like the Pakistani rupee.
As stated earlier in the example given, and in the ValutaFX exchange rate, the highest exchange rate was on the 8th of January, 2026, with 1 INR for 3.1332 PKR. The lowest was on the 23rd of July, 2026, with 1 INR for 2.8681 PKR. It has decreased by 7.52% over 2026, per ValutaFX.
India’s rupee has fallen against the dollar, but it is also worth more per unit against some currencies, and this only shows that two truths can exist. A currency can be worth more per unit at the same time getting weaker.
The country imports oil in dollars, raising its number because of its depreciating value compared to the dollar. And when that happens, things get more expensive, thereby making living conditions unsustainable for the common Indian (Scroll.in, 2026a).
References:
- Scroll. in. (2026a). Rupee slides to record low of 96.3 against US dollar. https://scroll.in
- Scroll. in. (2026b). Rupee slumps to record low of 96.9 against the US dollar. https://scroll.in
- The Wire. (2026). Nearly Rs 92 to a dollar, rupee tanks to all-time low. https://m.thewire.in
- ValutaFX. (2026). Indian Rupee (INR) to Pakistan Rupee (PKR) exchange rate history. https://www.valutafx.com